Business

Anheuser-Busch has withdrawn its opposition to Natty Greene's Brewing Co.'s trademark application for the phrase "Natty Greene's," a name the Greensboro-based brewer has used for more than a decade. Anheuser-Busch had argued the phrase is too similar to its trademarked "Natty Light" phrase it uses to promote its Natural Light beer.

Retired Wells Fargo executive Stan Kelly will serve as CEO and president of the Piedmont Triad Partnership on a permanent basis, the economic-development group said. Kelly took over the roles on an interim basis in January, replacing David Powell. Kelly retired last summer as regional president for San Francisco-based Wells Fargo.

Since Seven Falls developer Keith Vinson was convicted in 2013 on fraud and conspiracy charges, Henderson County is left responsible for completing road and infrastructure work at the failed 1,400-acre development. Federal officials refused to reactivate permits for the work to be completed, and it will take six months to a year to secure new ones.

Barbecue pitmaster Ed Mitchell has closed his restaurant at the American Tobacco Campus in Durham after being open for less than a year. Mitchell says the space was too small to meet the restaurant's demands and he is looking to reopen in a larger space in the Triangle.

Charlotte Douglas International Airport plans to hire a new economic affairs manager to help it recruit companies – specifically industrial, warehouse and logistics businesses – that want to locate at or near the airport.

Leases for wind turbines off the coast of North Carolina could be awarded as early as 2016, according to the federal Bureau of Ocean Energy Management. The agency recently held public hearings in three coastal communities that could be impacted by the turbines. Some residents fear the turbines could harm the coastal tourism industry.

First Citizens Bank of Raleigh will acquire Capitol City Bank & Trust, a community bank based in Atlanta with eight branches and $275 million in assets. Its the bank's seventh FDIC-brokered acquisition since the financial crisis began in 2007.

International Market Centers paid $11.2 million for the 9-story Commerce & Design building in downtown High Point, public records show. Based in Las Vegas and High Point, the company plans to invest $2 million in the 257,180-square-foot building over the next five years. The purchase expands its local holdings to 6.7 million square feet.

Canadian drugmaker Valeant Pharmaceuticals has lined up financing for a possible acquisition of Raleigh-based Salix Pharmaceuticals, according to a report from Bloomberg News. Valeant could offer more than $150 a share, the report says. Salix, which makes drugs for gastrointestinal illnesses, canceled a planned $2.7 billion merger with Italy-based Cosmo Pharmaceuticals last fall.